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1. Coffee painting and art. Our first idea was to create a dye by mixing the coffee grounds and water together that can be used for painting similar to water colouring. We planned to manifest this into an art workshop using the coffee paint. However, this would require a third-party instructor to run the workshop as none of the group members knew how to paint well

2. Odor Absorbents. Our second idea was to stuff coffee grounds into a fabric like a sock to absorb odor from places like the fridge or from shoes. However, not only was this idea too simplistic, it left lingering scents of coffee which may not be to everyone's liking.

3. Textiles. Our third idea was to mix coffee grounds into shirts to give them anti-odor and fast drying properties which would be useful for people who are sporty, go outside a lot or sweat a lot. However, when we tested this on old shirts, we realised the process of incorporating coffee grounds into shirts was too complicated and we ended up leaving patches of coffee stains on the shirt as well as a strong coffee odor.

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1. We initially wanted to design a system that would reduce the amount of water used per flushed saving water. This idea would help households to conserve water and reduce their overall water consumption. However, upon further consideration, we realised that this idea would be significantly hard to implement as its specific components would also cause the end product to be expensive to design and produce. Because of the high cost and installation difficulty, fewer people would be willing to adopt this system in their homes, which may limit the overall impact of water conservation.

2. Next we thought of a campaign to make people collect grey water from their sinks or shower to use to water their plants or flush their toilets but the reason this would fail is because people often prioritized comfort and convenience as they would need to place containers to store it and reuse it for later, which would be an inconvenience.  Furthermore the amounts of water saved by doing this would be small and would not provide any immediate benefits thus reducing their motivation.Storage creates another barrier. Greywater needs temporary containers. These take up space, risk spills, and raise hygiene concerns. Stagnant water may develop odour or attract insects if left unused. Many households prefer to avoid these issues.

3. Lastly we are currently doing a modular filtration device which can be connected to a central catchment tan. This system would be able to filter water, cleaning dirt, debris, as well as other impurities found in water. The filtered water could then be reused for non-drinking purposes such as flushing toilets, watering plants or cleaning. However, this idea has certain limitations. Firstly, the installation process may be complicated, as the system would need to be connected to existing plumbing and drainage systems in homes or schools. This may require professional help, which increases the overall cost. Secondly, the system itself could be expensive, as it requires multiple filtration modules, storage tanks, and connecting pipes. Not all households or schools may be willing or able to afford such a setup. Finally, the system may also require regular maintenance, such as replacing or cleaning the filtration modules, which could discourage users from adopting it.Because of these factors, the solution may not be simple or accessible enough for widespread adoption, which goes against our group’s goal of creating a system that schools and households can easily implement.

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Original Problem Statement:

How can we utilize excess fabric waste from production into purposeful innovations?

Our Team’s Framed Design Challenge Statement:

How might we integrate a scalable upcycling system within Singaporean production lines to transform industrial fabric offcuts into high-durability patchwork carpeting for public infrastructure and sustainable workspaces

3 failed solutions in fashion waste and why they might not have worked:

1. Charity Donation Dumping

Solution: Placing bins in malls or public spaces for people to donate old clothes

Why it failed: It was focusing on consumer waste rather than production waste. It targets the wrong end of the supply chain (post-consumer and not post-production stage). This does not solve fabric waste from production as it is dealing with used clothes that contain inconsistent fabric qualities, and often contaminated ones, making it almost impossible to use as the primary raw material for high-end innovations. Plus, in Singapore, much of the donated clothes ends up incinerated because there is no powerful industrial system that can handle large volumes of unwanted clothing/fabric.

What we can takeaway: We should focus on pre-consumer fabric waste produced, that are brand-new, clean and has promised technical properties that can then be seen as a primary raw material for new innovations.

2. Workshops turning fabric scraps into small trinkets

Solution: Hosting small workshops to turn fabric scraps into items like tote bags or keychains

Why it failed: It was mainly fabric repurposing going on, hence the solution is not scalable and does not solve tons of fabric waste produced by factories.

What we can takeaway: We should target lowering production waste (root of the problem), and propose an idea that is scalable and self-sustainable

3. Pricing eco-friendly products at a higher rate

Solution: making recycled / upcycled products priced at higher costs, in order to cover the costs of recycling + upcycling, as well as to change the perception of scrap materials being lower in value.

Why it failed: consumers would rather pay for something cheaper, many people dont consider about the eco-friendliness when purchasing products. non-eco friendly companies dominate the markets and sell their products for cheaper prices which deters consumers from choosing the more expensive eco friendly products

What we can takeaway: high prices cover the costs, but they greatly reduce the impact of our solutions. consider what is desirable to our target audience.

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Failed solution 1:

NEA's "Love Your Food @ Schools" Project (2017–2019):
1.In an effort to turn leftovers into compost, the National Environment Agency placed food waste digesting equipment in ten trial schools. They also ran awareness campaigns to encourage staff and students to avoid wasting food.Although,it had limited long-term sucess.While it increased short-term awareness and helped recycle some waste,keeping staff and student loyalty turned out to be challenging. The effort mostly only really handled waste after it was produced rather than preventing over-portioning or hurried ordering in the canteen, and participation decreased after the initial excitement. Changing someone's behavior proved to still be pretty challenging.

2. The 800 Super Pilot: Intelligent Food Waste Bins and Lockers
In HDB estates including Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh, a "Smart Locker" system was tested in 2021. Residents were given special airtight containers to collect food waste in order to receive supermarket coupons. However, due to that it couldn't  match Singapore's current garbage chute system's convenience and easiness, this idea was not able to achieve long-term success. When they could just toss the foul-smelling food trash down the chute at their door, most homeowners deemed it too much trouble to bring it down to a locker. Additionally, people were more concerned about hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic and preferred the quick, contactless disposal of their house chutes over using reusable containers and community lockers. This sort of system was also implemented in a plethora of other ASEAN countries like Vietnam's "Deposit-Return" system or Bangkok's "organic waste bins" systems.

3.In a 2020 study, researchers wanted to reduce food waste in schools by leveraging computer models to design "optimized" menus that were healthier and more sustainable. They also implemented "tasting spoons" so students could sample a small portion of a new dish before opting for a full serving, hoping this would prevent them from throwing away food they found unpleasant.That being said, although the menus appeared "perfect" theoretically on paper , the results showed that they did not actually impact the quantity of food students left uneaten. Although "tasting spoons" aided students in the sense that it steered them away from clear disliked foods, they accidentally introduced a new issue known as "serving waste." Since numerous students sampled the food and chose not to eat it further, large amounts of prepared meals remained uneaten in the serving trays and ultimately needed to be thrown away. This experiment showed us that merely changing the menu or providing samples isn't going to be enough if the students don't find the food attractive or if the portions arent proportional to their hungar levels.

Citations:

https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/nea-launches-love-your-food-@-schools-project-to-encourage-youth-to-cherish-and-not-waste-food

https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/new-public-waste-collection-contract-for-the-ang-mo-kio-toa-payoh-sector-commences-1-october-2021

https://en.mae.gov.vn/first-depositreturn-model-launched-in-hue-9017.htm

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12937-020-00579-z

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/food-waste-lockers-hdb-ang-mo-kio-toa-payoh-2193986

https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/3r-programmes-and-resources/food-waste-management/food-waste-management-strategies

https://en.mae.gov.vn/first-depositreturn-model-launched-in-hue-9017.htm

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First “Deposit–Return” model launched in Hue

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On September 14, the project “Hue - Plastic Smart City in Central Viet Nam” (funded by WWF-Norway through WWF-Viet Nam and received by Hue City People’s Committee) cooperated with the University of Sciences (Hue University) to launch the pilot “Deposit - Return System” (DRS).

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Our first idea, on products made from biopolymers would not work as it has no correlation to our target audience (youths) and is not something that is feasible by ourselves.

Secondly, edible utensils were not suitable as there are many administrative issues to deal with, especially with things that will be eaten. It will be a challenge to cater to many communities in Singapore due to different religions and practices. Furthermore, there is an issue of hygiene, whereby strict hygiene standards must be met and many of these will not be feasible alone as a youth. Furthermore, if somehow our products are edible, people may not want to consume them as there will be many rounds of processing to ensure a longer shelf life, which will hike up the costs of our product.

Lastly, we decided not to create an app as we lack the coding skills to do so and promoting a new app in the midsts of countless other apps will be challenging as there is a high competition and it is also difficult to relate it to youths. Furthermore, we'd have to fund money in to new updates continuously, which could even make the app blocked behind the paywall and eventually making youth loose interest.

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Solution 1:

Use of greywater to flush toilets. Though this idea may have its merits such as the reusing of greywater produced from sinks integrated into the toilet bowls, it is rather difficult to scale and implement this to most HDB flats. Furthermore, the implementation may require high costs and inconvenience consumers during the installation. From the survey we conducted, it is apparent that most consumers favour convenience and are also unwilling to pay high installation costs despite it being more environmentally friendly in the long term.

Solution 2:

Use of a dual plumbing system in households to separate greywater and blackwater. This is not feasible due to high installation and maintenance costs, together with the need to change the drainage systems of existing HDB estates and the possible risk of cross contamination. Given that our target group favours convenience and low costs, this would not be widely accepted and used by a large majority of the target group despite them being able to reuse greywater and become more environmentally sustainable.

Solution 3:

Use of a reverse osmosis filtration system in households. This is not feasible as reverse osmosis requires high amounts of energy to be conducted, this would contribute significantly to the cost making it not favoured by our target group that being HDB residents. Furthermore, the reverse osmosis filtration system would require high maintenance which would also contribute to the high cost and inconvenience the target group. Since our target group favours low costs and convenience, the reverse osmosis filtration system would not be well received by them.

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Failed Solution 1: “Smart Tray” Sensor Scales (e.g., Leanpath)

Schools trialled smart scales at tray return points to automatically weigh and log food waste. It failed to scale because the hardware was expensive to install in every canteen, required constant maintenance, and staff found it disruptive to the existing tray return workflow. Vendors also didn’t receive the data in a usable format, so even when waste was tracked, behaviour didn’t change.

Failed Solution 2: Student Food Waste Awareness Campaigns

Many schools ran posters, pledges, and assemblies encouraging students to finish their food. These failed because, as our panel discussion highlighted, students are pro-environment in theory but choose the path of least resistance in practice. Without any incentive or system change, awareness alone didn’t translate into finishing meals.

Failed Solution 3: Canteen Pre-Order Apps (e.g., school lunch booking systems)

Some schools tried apps where students pre-ordered meals so vendors knew exactly how much to cook. These failed because student participation was low, students didn’t want to commit to a meal in the morning, orders were frequently cancelled or ignored, and vendors couldn’t rely on the data. Without strong incentives or enforcement, adoption dropped off quickly.

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1. Solar Roadways (USA, 2014–2019):

Kickstarter-famous attempt to harvest energy from "wasted" road surface area. Failed because the kWh-per-day yield was a fraction of projections and cost-per-kWh was an order of magnitude worse than rooftop solar.

Lesson for us: "recovering wasted energy" is only meaningful if the kWh per installation per day is large enough to beat installation cost. This is exactly the challenge Yipin and one survey respondent raised about shower-water heat. We have to quantify ΔT × flow → kWh per stack per day before we finalize our solutions

2. Masdar City greywater recycling (UAE, 2008–present):

Net-zero city that promised total greywater recovery and quietly walked the goal back as the centralised system proved too complex, capex-heavy and energy-hungry.

Lesson for us: retrofit must be the primary path, not the afterthought (80%+ of Singaporeans live in existing buildings), and modular/decentralised beats grand-and-centralised. This is precisely why our two-pronged approach leads with the clamp-on retrofit.

3. Power-Pipe / GFX drain-water heat recovery (1990s–2010s):

The most directly relevant failure of all three. Technology worked (25–60% heat recovery, exactly our target band), but commercial adoption was effectively zero. Failed because (a) plumbers didn't sell it, it fell between trades, exactly Yipin's "not under our scope" line; (b) savings were invisible without monitoring; (c) sold as capex, not service; (d) targeted homeowners who don't feel the pain.

Lesson for us: DRAIN+ is essentially Power-Pipe-but-fixed: DaaS instead of capex, SmartPulse for visible savings, bundled value (greywater + Green Mark + carbon), and sold B2B to FMs who actually feel utility cost pressure. The +75 NPS among building owners in our survey is direct evidence the segment swap is the right call.

The cross-cutting insight at the end: all three failures share a single root cause. A real waste stream identified, but the business model and adoption pathway were wrong. None of them failed because the waste wasn't real. DRAIN+'s strategy (retrofit-first, DaaS-funded, IoT-monitored, sold to owners) is a direct response to each mistake.

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1. A smart pricing tag that connects with the inventory system and automatically lowers price as expiry date approaches (for example , 10% to 30%). We realized that this would not work because a smart pricing tag would need sensors that also needed to work with the inventory system and there are far too many products in a large scale supermarket, which could be very expensive and also make supermarkets lose out on potential customers. Food closer to expiry dates and have discounts may make these customers feel that the food may have potentially 'gone bad' and not buy it either way, or the supermarket may lose profit if customers wait till there are massive discounts below market price and abuse the smart pricing tag system. There were too many disadvantages than advantages and the cost to make these sensors and the loss of revenue would generally just make this idea not a feasible solution.

https://www.freethink.com/hard-tech/digital-price-tags-dynamic-pricing

This has already been tried and tested and has proved our points of potentially driving customers away and also takes too much time and effort to make these smart pricing tags work.

2. Creating an app that alerts consumers when there are new deals/discounts for expiring food - based on the 'best by' date. Generally, apps are very hard to code and need a team of at least 8 with prior experience to do so. We are only a small team of 4 and only about 2 of us know how to code. Apps would also be very hard to advertise as in this day and age, there are hundreds of apps that are released every day, and many would have the same idea as us and we personally thought that this idea of 'alerting' consumers would not work as our 'alert's may be annoying for consumers as there would be many notifications, and it would spam their phone. Many people have apps on their phone as well with notifications off and don't use it, or the app is just background apps on their mobile phones. Retailers may already have this app as one of the main categories in their own apps, and having an extension when you could have it in the same app would be rather confusing and annoying. Plus, to negotiate with big retailers like NTUC and Cold Storage would be hard because it would be easier for them to produce the app themselves than rely on us. We believed that there are more efficient ways to reduce food waste and are simpler and effective.

https://www.singaporetech.edu.sg/news/app-way-reduce-food-wastage

This has also been done as well, and the team still has to go through many challenges that requires much knowledge and hands on experience in developing a prototype, and had to reduce many functions and features. In our opinion, we did not want to develop an app that only provides basic support to consumers and want to actively discourage food waste. This idea has been done already and if we created something similar it would not help discourage food waste and would be just 'another app' on the market that would not entice consumers in downloading.

3. Creating an AI agent that could help analyze foods in fridges with just a snapshot from households into meals with a low calorie count and high protein content, and present new unique meals to households to consume rather than just the same basic meal everyday. In our heads, this was a good idea that could help prevent the over stockpiling of food in fridges, and overall prevent food waste. However, we realized that it would be hard for an AI to generate meals without clearly seeing a photo of the exact foods would be hard to make into a new dish. Moreover, AI cannot guarantee that the food would be delicious and may affect the service provided to households. To program this AI service would also be a long term project than rather a few months as there would be a ton of trials to do, and to take detailed snapshots of every single produce in the fridge would take a ton of time and work, and would overall just be a big hassle. Why go through unnecessary hassles and issues that can be avoided by just eating the same meals every day that are proven to be efficient and yummy? Plus, a good search on the internet can find many meals backed by many that have tried and tested them on a food blog.

https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/recipes/will-ai-spell-the-death-of-cookbooks-we-put-chatgpt-to-the-recipe-test-20230810-p5dvg0.html

This has already been done as well by others and there have been many drawbacks due to AI having limited information that is fed into their system. It takes the recipe from food blogs, and if there are mistakes in that recipe it would show back up in the AI agent as well. There are many limitations and potential for disaster as said in the news post, and is inefficient if we started on this long term as there may not be much for us to improve on the agent as well.

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1. Many households have attempted to install small-scale greywater recycling systems to reuse water from showers, sinks, and washing machines for non-drinking purposes such as irrigation or flushing toilets. The idea is environmentally friendly and helps reduce water wastage, however it often fails in practice due to maintenance and health concerns. These systems require regular cleaning and monitoring, as filters can become clogged with dirt, soap residue, and organic matter. Over time, many users neglect proper maintenance because it is time-consuming or inconvenient. As a result, untreated or poorly treated greywater can become a breeding ground for bacteria, risking hygiene. This leads to users choosing to give up on the system altogether, showing that even simple solutions can fail if they are not user-friendly or require too much effort and time to maintain.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12111674/? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S246858441730020X?

2. Having an open-air collection system. This would fail because if there wasn't a lot of rainfall or greywater that day and afterwards the weather was super sunny, the water in the collection system would just evaporate, and there would not be enough water in the system. It would also fail because the draining system could become air-polluted

https://www.worldplumbing.org/safe-drainage-systems/

3. Rainwater harvesting systems, especially large storage tanks, are commonly promoted as a way to conserve water. However, in many cases, these systems fail to deliver the expected benefits. One major reason is that increasing the size of the tank does not necessarily lead to a significant increase in usable water. In areas with irregular rainfall, tanks may remain empty for long periods or overflow during heavy rain, leading to wasted water. Additionally, poor design, such as improper placement of tanks or clogged gutters, can reduce the efficiency of water collection. In dense urban environments, limited roof space further restricts how much rainwater can be captured.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/6/264?https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2020.0426?

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Failed solution 1 :

My group and I came up with an idea to incorporate plants to remove air pollutants in an indoor environment. (e.g. using plants to make filters to be used as part of an air filter).

This idea failed because we found many studies showing that plants are not highly effective in removing pollutants from the air. Additionally, we also found that only some plants, such as Snake (Sansevieria trifasciata) and Money (Epipremnum aureum) plants, were effective. While plants do absorb pollutants in the air, their impact is minimal in real indoor environments.We have found a study to prove this which states that effectiveness of plants for passive removal of particulate matter is low in the indoor environment. This is a significant limitation as Particulate air pollution is a major health concern and is responsible for about one in nine premature deaths worldwide. Therefore, relying on plants as the main component of an air filtration system would not sufficiently reduce harmful pollutants. Overall, this idea failed because it overestimates the real-world effectiveness of plants and does not adequately address the scale and complexity of indoor air pollution.

(source : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132322006175?utm_source=chatgpt.com )

Failed solution 2:

My group and I came up with an idea to make use of our organic filter sheets in the air conditioner as a replacement or an additional filtration system instead/with the existing mesh filter sheets used in air cons for filtration of many dust particles.

This idea failed because we realised that air conditioner dust filters have to be effective for a very long time especially when it comes to household uses and they have to be very durable. They also have really tiny and minute pores that try to trap even the smallest dust particles. However our organic air filter sheets that we plan on making do not have comparably that tiny pores and cannot trap as many dust particles. And when we thought of using it as an additional dust filtration mechanism, we realised that since they are made from food fibres, they would not last for a very long time inside the extreme heat energy produced by the air conditioners. No matter how many chemicals we use they would definitely rot and and even become sticky and etc. under the extreme conditions and temperatures in the air conditioner. So we decided to drop that idea.

Failed solution 3:

A solution was using cheap ionizer purifiers, often sold online for under $50, and promised affordable clean air but delivered something far worse. These devices work by charging particles so they stick to surfaces such as walls, furniture or the floor, thus proving pollution is still present, just not existing in the air. Additionally, they also produce ozone as a toxic byproduct. Ozone is a known lung irritant that can trigger asthma attacks, worsen respiratory infections, and even cause long-term lung damage. Thus, the California Air Resources Board had officially banned ozone generators for air cleaning purposes, yet they remain widely available on platforms like Shopee and Amazon. In trying to solve the air pollution problem, these devices ended up creating a new one, making indoor air quality worse than before.

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1. Clothing recycling bins (Yellow bins). This is a failed solution, as even though people try to recycle their unwanted clothes, sometimes when others unknowingly contaminate the yellow bin by discarding food waste or other types of waste, even the ‘good recycled clothes’ get contaminated. This leads to even more textile waste and thus does not help to solve the actual problem of the need to recycle and reduce the  textile waste that ends up in our landfills. Moreover, the yellow bins are not so accessible compared to the green and blue bins which are available almost everywhere. Therefore, not many people are aware of the yellow bins and what to recycle in it. Not just the misuse of these bins are also a big problem. It is reported that some people are taking away clothes from the bin and using it for their own advantage like selling them for profit.

Sources: https://www.stomp.sg/singapore-seen/man-and-woman-seen-carrying-away-bags-clothes-left-next-cloop-recycling-bin-bukit

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ZeroWasteJourneySg/posts/2377765179277779/

2. Only holding awareness and campaigns doesn’t lead to people necessarily taking action. For example, people may understand the impact of fashion waste from the talk but might still choose to engage in buying from fast fashion brands or even buying in bulk. Research suggests that even when consumers are aware of environmental issues, they may continue unsustainable consumption habits due to social and behavioural factors. From this we can understand that only having awareness campaigns is insufficient on its own to change people’s behavior, as external factors such as personal factors and social influences may affect the choices made by the consumers. While awareness campaigns such as posters or talks help to raise awareness among students, they are often ineffective in getting people to take action or create any behavioural changes.Thus, we must understand that while knowledge through awareness campaigns is important, it does not provide opportunities to build certain habits, do hands-on activities or action. All in all, to engage users, we must take interactive and hands-on approaches to encourage participation and make the activity more meaningful, knowledgeable and enjoyable.

Sources:

1. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1875

2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-02955-0

3. One of the failed solutions that had been attempted was the H&M garment collection programme. The aim of this programme was to be able recycle and repurpose the different clothing as being a huge clothing brand every year they generated a lot of clothing waste from unsold clothes– An issue derived from the fast fashion industry. Despite marketing and promoting this platforms, the consumers ( Target audience) was not convinced to help donate clothes in this garment collection programme. Some of the problems which caused this result would be that the collection drive was not convenient for the consumer to donate to, for example, maybe the donating areas or points were not convenient. Another problem could have been that people were not aware which may be a lacking aspect in the garment collection’s promoting and marketing. Finally, the last problem that the garment collection drive would have faced was consumer mindset of not ‘’caring’’ or knowing enough on the topic of sustainability and material/fashion waste which is also linked to the consumer’s awareness and mindset. In a nutshell, it can be concluded that this drive was unsuccessful from percentages given in the sources, 65 percent were resold, giving them a new life, however they could be thrown away again– Not a solution to solve the root cause as well as 10 percent of the clothes were thrown away which is a large percentage for a collection programme which collected tonnes of clothes which shows how this solution was not a best fit for the consumer. Furthermore, only 2 percent was recycled despite gaining tonnes of clothes that are mostly found in recyclable conditions especially textiles from the company’s dead stock of clothing and textiles. Hence, from all the evidences, this programme was a failed solution to meet its original aim.

Sources:

1. https://www2.hm.com/en_sg/sustainability-hm/services/garment-collecting.html

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1) App where sewing patterns are generated based on clothing that user does not want to wear anymore. They are then encouraged to make the clothing to suit their tastes. However, this was not convenient, and users are more likely to not be encouraged to sew their own clothes. There is also a large learning curve, thus it won't be able to bring change to a large audience.

2) Blind box scrap bundle: A platform to curate scrap boxes filled with old fabric cuttings to be purchased by small designers for a low cost. While this takes a creative stance, it is again not as practical as not many people can sew, and many do not have the time or willingless to sew or learn how to sew. Hence this solution would be more targetting to designers, which is not in our area of focus. With the finance aspect as well, as these bundles may be costly when accounted with shipping, and designers would choose to opt for mass purchasing of new fabric, as it would be cheaper and exactly what they wanted.

3) Creating water soluble threads for designers to dissolve after creating designing prototypes so they can easily remove them and reuse the fabric for the next version. This solution suffered the same problems as the last two, with it being not practical for consumers in their daily life due to lack of time. Not only that, this is also aimed at designers which are not our target audience. Ordinary consumers generally do not sew or design their own prototypes so they would not have much use for it.

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Failed Solution 1: Ban all single-use materials completely.

A complete ban on single-use materials may seem effective, but it fails because it relies too heavily on users to always be prepared. Many attendees may forget to bring their own containers or find it inconvenient, leading to frustration and non-compliance. This can disrupt event operations, slow down food distribution, and create negative experiences. Ultimately, a solution that depends on perfect user behaviour is unrealistic and difficult to sustain in real-world settings.

Failed Solution 2: Replace all disposables with biodegradable packaging.

Switching to biodegradable or compostable packaging does not fully solve the problem, as many of these materials still require specific conditions to decompose and often end up in landfills. Additionally, they are more expensive, increasing costs for event organisers. Most importantly, this solution does not address user behaviour, as attendees will still treat these items as disposable, continuing the cycle of waste rather than reducing it.

Failed Solution 3: Require attendees to wash their own utensils.

Having attendees wash their own reusable utensils is impractical and inconvenient, as many people are unwilling to spend time cleaning during an event. This can result in long queues, inconsistent hygiene standards, and an overall unpleasant experience. Poorly cleaned utensils may also pose health risks. Since this solution increases effort for users without providing clear benefits, it is unlikely to be widely accepted or effective.

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Failed Solution 1: “Smart Tray” Sensor Scales (e.g., Leanpath)

Schools trialled smart scales at tray return points to automatically weigh and log food waste. It failed to scale because the hardware was expensive to install in every canteen, required constant maintenance, and staff found it disruptive to the existing tray return workflow. Vendors also didn’t receive the data in a usable format, so even when waste was tracked, behaviour didn’t change.

Failed Solution 2: Student Food Waste Awareness Campaigns

Many schools ran posters, pledges, and assemblies encouraging students to finish their food. These failed because, as our panel discussion highlighted, students are pro-environment in theory but choose the path of least resistance in practice. Without any incentive or system change, awareness alone didn’t translate into finishing meals.

Failed Solution 3: Canteen Pre-Order Apps (e.g., school lunch booking systems)

Some schools have tried apps where students pre-order meals, so vendors know exactly how much to cook. These failed because student participation was low, students didn’t want to commit to a meal in the morning, orders were frequently cancelled or ignored, and vendors couldn’t rely on the data. Without strong incentives or enforcement, adoption dropped off quickly.

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1. One of our idea was converting all physical advertisement in large scale events to fully digital advertisvement. However, although it solves the issue of resources watse. Aarticipants might not find it intersting (physical advertisement are much more convenient to read and attractive). Besides that, this solution is not insightful enough to capture attention from both buyers and consumers.

2. Another idea was to provide pre-packed reusable event kits to all attendess, eg. Cups, utensils and containers. Although sustainable in theory, it requires high upfront cost and logistics. Many attendees might even not use or return the items, leading to wastage instead of reduction. Besides that, it is also inconvenient to carry these items around.

3. One of our ideas is to get the attendees the opportunity to use their smartphones to scan a QR code while properly disposing of waste in order to accumulate points or rewards. Though this initiative will promote waste segregation, it will still fail to address the problem of waste production at its very source since all it does is manage waste once it has been produced.

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1. We initially thought of placing collection bins around the school for students to drop off their PLDs since we thought the main issue to address was convenience. But after more thought and research (a few surveys) we realised that students probably would not be comfortable giving away their devices so easily since they believe they might still have use for it in the future, not realising the environmental harm that hoarding mindset can cause. We realised that’s convenience isn’t the only issue, we also had to address students’ attachment to their devices

2. We had a presentation to the school explaining how the students PLDs can harm the environment and they should recycle it, but after receiving feedback from the audience, we realised that most secondary school students truly believe they will still use their PLDS after secondary school. We realised we need more proof and/or incentive to encourage student participation in our programme (eg surveying previous year graduates (alr on it!) or having vouchers in exchange for every iPad collected)

3. One of our original ideas was to partner with the students (possibly Student Councillors or class leaders) in our school to collect the iPads instead of outside organisations, as it is way more convenient and also more feasible to collaborate with them compared to other organisations. Moreover, through this process, minimal funds are required as there's sufficient manpower. However, after thinking it through and weighing the pros and cons, we scraped the idea due to its flaws. Even though it may be easier to work with students from our school, in the end, we still need a sponsor to help with the economic side of our project. Our whole premise of the project is to give incentives to the students so they trade in their PLDs, and this can only happen if we partner with an existing organisation to provide us with the funds required for these incentives. In the end, bringing in an organisation not only helps for the collection, but also the added benefit for the students.

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1. Coffee painting and art. Our first idea was to create a dye by mixing the coffee grounds and water together that can be used for painting similar to water colouring. We planned to manifest this into an art workshop using the coffee paint. However, this would require a third-party instructor to run the workshop as none of the group members knew how to paint well

2. Odor Absorbents. Our second idea was to stuff coffee grounds into a fabric like a sock to absorb odor from places like the fridge or from shoes. However, not only was this idea too simplistic, it left lingering scents of coffee which may not be to everyone's liking.

3. Textiles. Our third idea was to mix coffee grounds into shirts to give them anti-odor and fast drying properties which would be useful for people who are sporty, go outside a lot or sweat a lot. However, when we tested this on old shirts, we realised the process of incorporating coffee grounds into shirts was too complicated and we ended up leaving patches of coffee stains on the shirt as well as a strong coffee odor.

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1. We wanted to open a repair cafe, where volunteers help fix items for free or low cost while teaching people how to do it themselves. This could encourage interaction and motivation to start repairing instead of discarding. However, the idea is quite large-scale and we probably do not have the resources or help to carry out such an idea. (ie the location or volunteers)

2. We wanted to build a repair app that gives detailed instructions on how to repair the specific item. This would build confidence for people to repair items on their own as they have access to such a feature. Unfortunately, this idea is not that feasible as there are many different items and ways to fix them and the repair app could not possibly have the solution to everything under the sun.

3. We wanted to create a resource hub, where spare parts/tools can be kept, available for borrowing or purchase. It would be situated in a prime location or multiple of them across the country so that more people will be more motivated to repair items now that they have access to such a place. However, this idea is too unrealistic and large-scale as we probably cannot afford to have multiple of such hubs across the country. Furthermore, people may not want to travel to the hub(s) as they are lazy or busy. There is also the question of who will man the hub.

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Although we initially considered using algae to produce straws due to its potential for mass production, affordability, and safe biodegradability, we ultimately decided against it. We found that the material absorbed moisture easily and became soggy, which compromised its functionality and made it difficult for users to drink comfortably.

We also explored the idea of incorporating natural dyes, such as blue pea flower powder and freeze-dried strawberry powder, to enhance the aesthetic appeal of our products. However, we realised that this feature did not directly address our problem statement, and therefore chose not to pursue it further.

Another material we considered was mycelium. However, it exhibited similar drawbacks to algae, particularly its tendency to become soft and lose structural integrity when exposed to liquids, making it unsuitable for use as a straw.

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1. Manual "Wasted Food" Logs (The Clipboard Method). Bascially Chefs or stewards manually writing down what was thrown away at the end of the night on a paper checklist. However, this solution is simply reactive, not proactive. By the time the chef writes down that 5kg of Laksa was wasted, the money is already gone. It also suffers from human error; busy staff often forget to log items or "under-report" waste to avoid getting in trouble with management.

2. Static "Food Waste" Smart Bins. This failed as these bins focus on Post-Service Data. They tell you what you wasted, but they don't tell the chef when to stop cooking. As your cousin mentioned, the real problem is the "Information Gap" during the service. A smart bin doesn't prevent a chef from cooking a fresh 20% buffer batch at 10:20 PM; it just weighs it after it's thrown away.

3. Display Only" Trays but it ruins the Guest Experience. High-paying guests at a 5-star hotel feel "cheated" if the buffet looks empty or stingy. It leads to bad reviews and complaints.

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Failed solution 1: The EU Ambient Air Quality Directive mandates strict limits on PM10, NO2, SO2, etc, with monitoring and required action plans.

The solution failed as countries were unwilling to enforce stringent measures. They prioritised economic sectors such as industrial and agricultural activities over compliance. The limits were achievable, but most countries delayed plans and ignored deadlines, opting to accept fines rather than charges.

Failed solution 2:

The Odd-Even Traffic Scheme implemented in Delhi sought to reduce vehicle emissions by restricting cars on the road based on license plate numbers. While short-term reductions in air pollution were observed during implementation periods, the policy ultimately failed to achieve sustained improvements in air quality. We believe this is largely because it addressed only one source of pollution, while major contributors such as industrial emissions, construction dust, and agricultural burning remained unregulated. Furthermore, many households adapted by purchasing second vehicles to circumvent the restriction, undermining its effectiveness. Studies by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found that the scheme had minimal long-term impact on overall pollution levels, illustrating its limited scope and weak behavioural enforcement.

Failed solution 3:

The Beijing Air Pollution Action Plan implemented in Beijing between 2013 and 2017 aimed to reduce air pollution through coal reduction and stricter industrial regulations. Although pollution levels decreased within Beijing, the policy is considered only partially successful due to systemic weaknesses. We deduced that this was a result of a multitude of reasons, notably, pollution was displaced to surrounding regions as industries relocated, creating a regional spillover effect rather than a net reduction. In addition, inconsistent enforcement in neighbouring provinces, driven by economic priorities, weakened the overall policy impact. The plan also failed to address secondary pollutants such as ozone, which in some cases increased. Research from Nature Climate Change and Tsinghua University highlights these limitations, showing that the policy did not achieve comprehensive or sustained air quality improvements.

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1) “Just dry the fruit waste and feed it directly”

This failed because fresh fruit skin and pulp are too wet and spoil quickly, so the material becomes moldy, unstable, and hard to transport or store. It also failed nutritionally because fruit waste varies a lot by source and season, so one batch may be sugary, another fibrous, and another too acidic for reliable bird feed formulation. For birds, that inconsistency is a bigger problem than people expect, because feed has to be stable and safe every time.

2) “Mix all fruit waste together and sell it as bird feed”

This sounds simple, but it failed because not all fruit waste is safe or useful without treatment. Some peels and seeds can contain anti-nutritional compounds, and peels may also carry pesticide residue, so a mixed product can create health risks if it is not tested and processed properly.

3) “Use it as feed for wild birds in parks or public spaces”

This failed because feeding wild birds can concentrate birds in one place, which raises disease-transmission risk and creates hygiene problems from droppings and leftover feed. It can also backfire if the feed is messy or gets wasted on the ground, which attracts pests and made the product look irresponsible rather than sustainable. In Singapore especially, this idea is risky because wild bird feeding is sensitive and can conflict with public-health concerns

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Our 3 failed solutions to our problem statement and why they have failed are:

Use leftover plastics from external sources — Reason for failure: plastics are not biodegradable and also the logistics of obtaining the leftover plastics is

complicated.

Make the packaging thin as possible and stretchy — Reason for failure: The packaging would not be able to keep up the quality of the packaging and it is also not stable.

Make the packaging out of biodegradable material and have many patterned holes so that minimal packaging is used and it is biodegradable and space efficient—Reason for failure: product could get damaged And packaging is not sturdy

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1. America’s policies to reduce food waste: Nine states in the US have passed food waste bans aimed at businesses such as chain restaurants and supermarkets. However, only Massachusetts managed to reduce its food waste by 7.3%, with similar legislation in other states having no discernible effect, possibly due to a lack of enforcement in these states and a lack of alternatives to throwing food into landfills and incinerators, such as the presence of food compostors. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/09/12/food-waste-bans-massachusetts

2. Issues with the current strategies: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922003706#:~:text=The%20largest%20commodity%20type%20used%20in%20mitigation,Jiménez%2DAntillón%20et%20al.%2C%202018)%20across%20composting%20interventions. As food systems are characterised by a complex network of local and global actors and stakeholders, an intervention into an individual stage of the value chain does not necessarily deliver a desired system-level outcome (Zurek et al., 2021). For example, simplistic prevention of food waste at the site of production (e.g. farms) can cause a food surplus beyond consumer needs and therefore greater overall wastage (Messner et al., 2020; Chaboud and Daviron, 2017). Reducing waste at the consumption stage does eliminate this issue but, in return, can impair both producer wellbeing (by creating negative cascading effects (Sethi et al., 2020)) and consumer health (through overconsumption (Hiç et al., 2016)). More generally, interventions targeting food waste reduction often invite unintended consequences for the environment, food security and human nutrition alike (Salemdeeb et al., 2017; Ahmed et al., 2021), as contrasting benefits from different strategies are bound to compete against one another (Goossens et al., 2019).

3. Ineffective packaging (often plastic): Companies may use excessive plastic packaging aimed at giving the food a longer shelf life, however, this often does not reduce any food waste. As such, this not only leads to the same amount of food being wasted, it also leads to an increase in usage of single-use plastics. https://zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Unwrapped_How-throwaway-plastic-is-failing-to-solve-Europes-food-waste-problem_and-what-we-need-to-do-instead_FoEE-ZWE-April-2018_final.pdf

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Solution 1:

App that decreases food waste by helping household track items with expiry dates and remind them when food is going to expire. F&B businesses can put up excess food on the app, and sell it to people or give to the community in need. At first, we thought it would be simple and easy to do, using less resources too. However, none of us knew how to code and trying to code an app would be too hard to do. In addition, in the world where there are so many apps, ours need a special feature(s) that would attract people to use it, as well as improving it and adding more features so that consumers would keep using it.

solution 2:

introducing rewards to households that have made an effort to reduce food waste. we can measure the amount of food waste individual households produce monthly, and for households with a decrease in food waste, we can reward them with vouchers to encourage them to carry on with their efforts. however, this plan is not very realistic. it would require a lot of resources and time and effort in order to measure and collate the results, and we also do not have the means to hand out vouchers.

solution 3:

creating a simple 2D adventure/platformer game to be introduced to primary schoolers to teach them about food waste and how to combat it. it would be quite simple like a pixelated, short game, but like we mentioned in solution 1, none of us have much prior experience with coding, and it would be quite difficult to create a game entirely for scratch.

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Our first idea of using Meiji milk bottles as simple plant pots for growing basil, while trying to integrate AI into the farm building process, likely failed because it lacked genuine innovation. Simply cutting a bottle to use as a static pot is a standard, low-effort recycling craft that does not inspire excitement or push boundaries. Furthermore, trying to force AI into the initial "building" phase felt like a gimmick rather than a practical tool. We learned that for this initiative to stand out, AI cannot just be a buzzword tacked onto a basic arts-and-crafts project; it needs to be an integral, functional part of the plants' ongoing growth and the students' daily learning experience.

Our second idea of connecting the milk bottles to act as pipe drains for greenhouse irrigation, alongside an AI-automated watering timer, also faced challenges because of practicality and safety constraints. Creating secure, watertight seals between plastic milk bottles to act as pressurized irrigation pipes is highly prone to leaking and structural failure, which is a hazard in a school environment. Additionally, basic automated watering timers already exist cheaply; using AI merely to schedule watering is overkill. We learned that recycled materials must be used within their structural limits, and AI should be deployed to solve complex, dynamic problems rather than replacing simple, existing tools like a timer.

Our third idea of building a static garden wall with the milk bottles in schools failed because it was entirely passive and lacked the required technological edge. While a green wall might be visually appealing at first, it does not mandate active, continuous student engagement. Without a data-driven or AI component built into its daily maintenance, it becomes just another static school decoration that students build once and quickly ignore. We learned that visual impact is not enough on its own; a successful, modern sustainability product must require ongoing, interactive participation from the students to keep them invested in the closed-loop cycle.

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1. Algae-based bottles: addresses material waste rather than water pollution. While it reduces plastic waste, it does not prevent household chemicals from entering the waterways.

2. Packaging with activated carbon pads: it only targets residual chemicals left in the packaging. However, the main pollution occurs during product use when chemicals are rinsed down the drain.

3. Smart Packaging with built-in filtration/capture layers: likewise, it focuses on the packaging stage rather than the point of use, when the main pollution occurs during product use in water.

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Solution 1:

We wanted to create an app that helps decrease food waste by tracking food's expiry date, reminding them when the food would expire. F&B businesses can also use the app and sell it to people who want it or give back to the community. At first, it seemed simple and easy to do, using less resources but none of us had the coding skills to do it and there are lots of app already, so what would make ours stand out? we needed to have a special feature and something that made consumers use our app over and over again.

Solution 2:

We wanted to implement a rewards system for households that have made an effort to reduce the food waste generated in their house. we had planned to measure the waste generated per household and household with a decrease in food waste would get vouchers to reward them and encourage them to keep up with their efforts. unfortunately this idea was not very realistic, as it would be incredibly time consuming and difficult to collate and measure the individual results of every household, and it wouldn't be feasible for us to hand out rewards as we do not have the resources or means to give them out.

Solution 3:

we wanted to create a game to introduce to primary schoolers teaching them about food waste and ways that we can combat it. it would be a simple 2D pixelated adventuring or platformer game. however, like stated in the first solution, none of us have much prior coding experience, and creating a game entirely from scratch would not be very favourable.

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Our first idea of a live leaderboard through the Eco-Credit digital passport likely failed because it depended heavily on active participation from attendees. Most people at events are not motivated to consistently log their actions, especially if it feels like extra effort with little tangible reward. While the system increases awareness, it does not influence behaviour at the exact moment decisions are made, such as choosing between disposable and reusable options. As a result, it struggles to create real, consistent behaviour change.

Our second idea, the Eco-Credit digital passport itself also faced challenges because it requires attendees to consciously engage with an app throughout the event. This adds friction, as users must remember to scan, track, or check their progress, which many are unlikely to do in a fast-paced event setting. Without strong or immediate incentives, the feature becomes easy to ignore, limiting its effectiveness in driving sustainable actions.

Our third idea of reusable and useful doorgifts failed because usefulness is highly subjective. Items that seem practical to organisers may not be valued by attendees, and can still end up as waste. Furthermore, event attendees typically do not attend for the purpose of receiving gifts, which lowers the perceived importance of such items. Even if the gifts are reusable, producing them in large quantities still consumes resources, making the overall environmental benefit questionable.

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Our first idea of a live leaderboard through the Eco-Credit digital passport likely failed because it depended heavily on active participation from attendees. Most people at events are not motivated to consistently log their actions, especially if it feels like extra effort with little tangible reward. While the system increases awareness, it does not influence behaviour at the exact moment decisions are made, such as choosing between disposable and reusable options. As a result, it struggles to create real, consistent behaviour change.

Secondly, the Eco-Credit digital passport itself also faced challenges because it requires attendees to consciously engage with an app throughout the event. This adds friction, as users must remember to scan, track, or check their progress, which many are unlikely to do in a fast-paced event setting. Without strong or immediate incentives, the feature becomes easy to ignore, limiting its effectiveness in driving sustainable actions.

Our third idea of reusable and useful doorgifts failed because usefulness is highly subjective. Items that seem practical to organisers may not be valued by attendees, and can still end up as waste. Furthermore, event attendees typically do not attend for the purpose of receiving gifts, which lowers the perceived importance of such items. Even if the gifts are reusable, producing them in large quantities still consumes resources, making the overall environmental benefit questionable.

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1. Our first solution was to make biodegradable fabrics, so that when thrown away, they could be recycled better and help with the growing problem of fashion waste. But when we looked further, we realised that biodegradable fabric needed suitable conditions to work and they had short lifespans, which means it would wear out faster and have to make people buy more clothing, which leads to overconsumerism.

2. The second solution was to rent out clothing to people who need it, but it failed because it would require extensive logistics to prepare everything and emit tons of carbon emissions from transport.

3. The third solution was to have a Fast Fashion Recycling program. This was quite unreliable as clothing pieces are not truly recycled into new garments due to technological limits and most clothing actually become cleaning rags to clean spills or vomit.

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1. Cloud Seeding Trials (Artificial Rain): Attempted in Delhi to reduce pollution, these initiatives often fail due to improper weather conditions (lack of sufficient moisture/humidity) and fail to address the root causes of pollution.

2. Smog Guns and Water Sprinklers: Used to settle dust, these methods are criticized as "temporary fixes" or "gimmicks" that do not treat the widespread, persistent pollution concentrations.

3. "Happy Seeder" Program: While intended to stop stubble burning, this program has seen mixed results, with some farmers finding it ineffective or too costly, leading to continued illegal burning

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1. repurposing coffee waste into coffee logs which can be used as firewood. While this idea can be sustainable in the sense that coffee logs burn longer than kiln-dried wood, but as firewood requires the wood to be completely dry, this process of drying will take a lot of time, effort and resources which may be extremely costly, and Burnt Cones may not find this way profitable in the short run. Thus, this idea may not be the most suitable for Burnt Cones.

2. Using coffee grounds as biofuel. Energy generation from biomass such as coffee grounds can become viable but only at a large scale. For a small scale cafe like Burnt cones, this may not be the best solution as Burnt Cones produces a few kg per day of grounds, hence in order to repurpose this it would require a dedicated, small-scale system that may be commercially unavailable now or extremely inefficient. Therefore, this method would be extremely expensive and will waste a lot of resources for Burnt Cones.

3. Using coffee grounds as fertiliser. Coffee grounds waste produces an acidic oil when decomposed and this may make the pH of the soil to be too acidic so many plants will not be able to acclimating and survive in such soil. Using coffee grounds waste directly as fertiliser can also block water and airflow in soil when compacted so plants will also not survive. If we were to use other chemicals to neutralise the effects of raw coffee grounds, it would require a lot of processes which make this solution not viable for Burnt Cones which may have little resources for such processes. Additionally, Burnt Cones’ customers may not find coffee grounds fertiliser appealing or applicable to them so Burnt Cones may not gain much revenue from this approach.

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Solution 1: Yindii App

The Yindii app is a platform designed to tackle food waste by allowing users to order surplus food from restaurants, bakeries, and shops at a discounted price for local pickup. At first glance, this concept directly addresses food waste from food chains that have perfectly good items left over at closing time. However, the solution struggles to fully solve the problem due to major logistical barriers. The platform relies entirely on a self pickup model, meaning that if the distance between the user and the shop is too far, the inconvenience and travel time often outweigh the discount. Because there is currently no integrated delivery system, user adoption drops in less dense areas. Consequently, the rate of surplus sales slows down significantly, and if the food is not claimed quickly enough by local foot traffic, it still ends up being thrown away, ultimately limiting the app's overall environmental impact.

You can read more about the operational hurdles of these platforms here:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2219767/fighting-food-waste

Solution 2: "Ugly Produce" Campaigns

Many supermarkets have introduced "ugly produce" campaigns to sell misshapen or cosmetically imperfect fruits and vegetables at a discount, aiming to reduce the massive amounts of food wasted at the farm level. At first glance, this concept directly addresses the unrealistic beauty standards that cause perfectly edible food to be discarded before it even reaches the shelves. However, my team and I think that this solution struggles to fully solve the problem because it frequently just shifts the waste further down the supply chain. We believe that while consumers might buy the discounted irregular produce, they often over-purchase due to the low price and let it rot in their own refrigerators. Furthermore, from our perspective, discounted ugly produce can cannibalize the sales of regular fruits and vegetables, meaning the "perfect" items end up going bad and being thrown away instead. Ultimately, we think this approach acts more as a marketing tactic that fails to address systemic agricultural overproduction or permanently change strict cosmetic regulations.

You can read more about why these marketing strategies struggle to make a real environmental impact here:

https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/how-to-sell-an-ugly-vegetable-give-it-googly-eyes/

Solution 3: Supermarket Surplus Donations

Many corporate food chains and supermarkets pledge to donate their unsold, near-expire food to local charities and food banks to prevent it from going to the landfill. The concept seems like a perfect win-win: feed vulnerable populations while simultaneously eliminating corporate food waste. However, my team and I think this solution heavily struggles in execution because it often creates severe logistical bottlenecks for the receiving organizations. We noticed that charities are frequently underfunded, rely heavily on volunteers, and lack the massive, refrigerated transport or storage space required to handle sudden, unpredictable influxes of highly perishable goods. Consequently, a large portion of the donated food spoils before it can be safely distributed to those in need. From our team's perspective, this model simply turns food aid organizations into a dumping ground for poor-quality waste, acting as a band-aid that allows large retailers to avoid fixing their own over-ordering and inventory mismanagement issues at the source.

You can read more about how this system burdens charities here:

https://www.sustainweb.org/news/mar25-use-by-report-food-waste/

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1. Too many zippers / overly complex

Idea: Clothing with lots of detachable parts (zippers everywhere for sleeves, legs, sides, etc.)

Why it failed:

Confusing / time-consuming to use independently

Hard to align zippers while seated (limited mobility)

Can feel bulky or uncomfortable when sitting for long periods

—> what was made for convenience, became inconvenient / complicated

2. Velcro on clothing

Idea: Replace buttons/zippers with Velcro for quick fastening

Why it failed:

Velcro wears out quickly after washing

Loud sound can be uncomfortable or draw unwanted attention

Can irritate skin or catch on other fabrics

Doesn’t look very stylish → users may feel self-conscious

—> Functional, but not durable/fashionable enough

3. One-size-fits-all adaptive clothing

Idea: Design a universal outfit that works for all wheelchair users

Why it failed:

Wheelchair users have very different needs (posture, mobility, preferences)

Poor fit = discomfort, pressure points, possible skin issues (e.g, sensory sensitivity/sensitive skin)

Doesn’t account for personal style or body shape

—> Oversimplified the problem (ignored diversity of users)

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1. Too many zippers / overly complex

Idea: Clothing with lots of detachable parts (zippers everywhere for sleeves, legs, sides, etc.)

Why it failed:

Confusing / time-consuming to use independently

Hard to align zippers while seated (limited mobility)

Can feel bulky or uncomfortable when sitting for long periods

—> what was made for convenience, became inconvenient / complicated

2. Velcro on clothing

Idea: Replace buttons/zippers with Velcro for quick fastening

Why it failed:

Velcro wears out quickly after washing

Loud sound can be uncomfortable or draw unwanted attention

Can irritate skin or catch on other fabrics

Doesn’t look very stylish → users may feel self-conscious

—> Functional, but not durable/fashionable enough

3. One-size-fits-all adaptive clothing

Idea: Design a universal outfit that works for all wheelchair users

Why it failed:

Wheelchair users have very different needs (posture, mobility, preferences)

Poor fit = discomfort, pressure points, possible skin issues (e.g, sensory sensitivity/sensitive skin)

Doesn’t account for personal style or body shape

—> Oversimplified the problem (ignored diversity of users)

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First idea was making an app, we found this idea to be quite engaging as it could allow various different platforms of repair tutorials all in one place, making it very convenient and useful. However, we found that it was quite difficult to make and maintain one as there could be possible bugs in the app and also making it required technical skills which our group did not have. We also thought that another good alternative for an app was creating a website as it was easier to make and maintain. Furthermore, it appealed to others more as it was easily accessible.

Our second idea was making a website that showcased videos on how to repair certain items, we found that this idea was good as it was convenient as it could be easily accessed and appealed to those who were interested in learning how to repair items. However, we thought that this idea resembled similar existing websites or apps already and would not really attract others as they could access it for free online and need not subscribe for these online tutorials on our website.

Our third idea was the repair workshop where residents would learn to repair broken items at the community centre. This was because of the complexity of hosting the workshop and the problem of making a profit off it. To repair broken items, resources would be needed to fix them which can be a lot of money. This would have to force us to increase the price of joining the workshop which can deter residents from joining. This would go against the point of having this workshop and if the price if joining the workshop was low, there would be little to no profit from the workshop which would deter people from investing in it as they would gain nothing from it. Additionally, there was the issue of not knowing what broken object residents would bring to the workshop. There are many types of appliances and items and the repairmen who would have to teach them how to repair it might not know how to do so.

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1) Solution 1: We can organise a workshop that teaches youths to recycle their items into new items like turning jeans into bags. This does not work as it is high effort with a lot of equipment to carry this out and also, when you have 5 jeans recycled into bags, you might not want another one as it might be too much (you are not going to use all of them and five is enough) so it is low impact, it is also low impact as people might not be willing to buy so much equipment to make a reusable bag when plastic bags have more convenience. There are also already workshops that exists.

2) Solution 2: We can utilize excess fabric to make book marks. This is low effort as any fabric can be used and you only need scissors and an iron, which every house has. This is not the chosen statement as it is low impact as not many people read physical books these days, and if they have, bookmarks are pretty common so they might not really want it. The impact is low as, the same thing, after making 5 of them, it starts to get too much and this means only very little fabric is being reused. People might be unwilling to use reused clothing as they might feel uncomfortable in using it when they feel it is dirty.

3) Solution 3: Make a poster to remind people to avoid fast fashion by researching first before buying or upcycling solutions to reuse clothes to reduce fast fashion. This is low effort as making a poster is easy. However, this is not a good idea as people might just ignore the poster even if it is captivating, this might also not be enough to encourage people to avoid fast fashion.

https://scrappliquegalore.com/pages/textile-waste-upcycling-workshops-singapore?srsltid=AfmBOorOUPFBuQAdwF-4wjc_UcN3VrZlBeEscC9xherl95zg0AP8Qp0J

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Zero Waste Upcycling Workshops Singapore | CSR Workshops Upcycling Sin

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We offer unique fashion waste upcycling workshops in Singapore for corporates, educational institutions, and individuals.

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First idea is to have fold in flaps held in place by friction for study bags/laptop bags, replacing the zipper. However, this is not a significant idea that would attract people to buy it as an essential as it only deals with 1 component of the original product, the zipper, hence it is not seen as a huge improvement from the original. The original laptop bag could already be very sustainable and durable as it is made out of fabric and foam, and people would not usually discard it frequently, thus there might not be a market for these innovative monomaterial laptop bags.

Second idea is single material water bottle, a durable water bottle fully of one type of plastic including cap, body, interior using flexible thickness instead of multiple materials. This does not work because it lacks market attractiveness as there are many products in market with the similar selling point of “durable and sustainability”

Third idea is redesigning uniform to only be one kind of fabric, no plastic buttons, metal fasteners as most uniform are disposed after graduation. This may not work as it has low chance of adoption in market, especially with the concern of an affordable cost that a uniform has to have. Additionally, second hand clothes and uniforms are trending, hence demand for monomaterial uniform may be lower than expected.

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1) Solution 1: We can use paper as a substitute to plastic for bags, straws etc as paper is a mono-materials ( single material type ). Paper takes about w-6 weeks to decompose so it is significantly more eco-friendly compared to plastic with the same convenience. Paper also kind of resembles plastic in appearance (aesthetic appeal) and functions mostly the same way. This is not our chosen solution as paper might not be as durable as plastic in some ways and is not waterproof. There is also already a lot of paper made items and there isn’t much we can add on as it is already working as well as possible in our opinion. .

2) Solution 2: For buffets, people usually dispose of the paper cups once they are finished. We can encourage Organizers to tell people to bring their own reusable cups beforehand or have a stall to allow them to buy reusable cups for their own use. This way, people will have less waste from the paper cups and it functions the same. This does not work as people might forget to bring the cups and feel upset that they have to buy one instead of getting a drink.

3) Solution 3: To design a system to empower communities, we have thought of passing broken items to people who can fix them like a group of people that can fix it and repair the items in their free time and pass it back to the people. This could save the waste of buying new things and throwing away repairable things. This might not work as we may not find the people who know how to repair the stuff and even there are these types of people, they might not want to do it for free and if they charge, people might feel it is easier to buy a new one.

https://caartn.com/collections/kraft-paper-bags

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Kraft Paper Bags - Affordable Packaging Solutions by CAARTN

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Kraft paper bags made from 100% recyclable kraft paper measuring at 130GSM to 260GSM paper thickness. 130GSM Kraft paper bags can carry food-safe window box, bento box, take away box and a wide range of other food packaging solutions. 260GSM Kraft paper bags can carry cake boxes, gift boxes and even flower arrangements!

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Solution 1:Using low frequency sound waves that are released that make dust particles stick together and fall down which makes it easier to clean. This idea was not really cost effective as producing these sound waves would require advanced devices that are not actively being produced on mass which can hurt the consumer's wallet too much. Another reason is that some of the dust particles that land on relatively inaccessible surfaces in a house can accumulate and cause more problems in the long run

Solution 2: Another idea we thought of was the use electric stoves but these are already quite common in many household which does not necessarily mean our idea is "innovative"

Solution 3: Using drones to capture dust. Similar reason to the first idea in the sense that it is too expensive and is just one of those robot floor cleaners but with propellers. This can also be a potential hazard for the user as the drones may hit certain obstacles and even the users themselves which can be inconvenient and possibly dangerous.

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1. Using gas turbine engines for public buses. The idea was to retrofit older buses with gas turbine engines to make them more eco-friendly. This was the worst idea we thought of. Although its works in terms of emissions of toxic gases and many other types of greenhouse gases (GHG), we soon realised that it would be pretty much impractical due to both how the public buses run in Singapore and how gas turbine engines work. Firstly, public buses have to stop at interchanges, bus stops and traffic lights, sometimes idling for some time. This idling is one of primary factors of fuel consumption, followed by braking, rendering a relatively high fuel consumption. Secondly, gas turbine engines are notorious from its fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2). Though significantly more eco-friendly than our current diesel buses in terms of toxicity and GHG emissions, it uses a lot of fuel, hence earning them name "gas-guzzler". It was also notorious for its CO2 emissions. This would mean that after just covering less than 4-6 hours of routes per day, it would need to refuel before it can return to service again. Thirdly, it is notoriously loud at close-range. Though it is softer at longer range, at close range, it was very loud, oftenly reaching >100 dbs, which is dangerous noise level at idle and full throttle. This can easily temporarily make hearing unclear to whoever is trying to board a bus or standing near one. Examples of gas turbine engines include the Honeywell AGT-1500 found in the M1 Abrams series, the Caterpillar 553 (along with a Detroit 6V53T diesel engine) found in the Stridvasgn 103 and the GTD-1000 and GTD-1250 found in the T80, T80B and T80U series.

2. Replanning routes. This was one of the worst ideas we thought of. The idea was to replan routes so that less buses would have run through an area. However, we soon realised that this was not going to end well due to severa reasons. First, it would create either bunching or a longer waiting time, resulting in too much or too little, passengers on a bus, reducing comfort and reliability. Though this can be compensated with regularly monitored bus distancing to counter frequency issues and double-decker buses or articulated buses to counter overcrowding, we cannot closely monitor buses to ensure they run exactly on that schedule. Moreover, some types of buses are restricted from entering certain areas, which leads to our second problem, restriction and reduced access. Certain buses cannot enter certain areas like double-deckers cannot enter airports, and both articulated and double deckers cannot enter private housing and formerly, electric buses cannot enter airports too. This would lead to many other issues like overcrowding, worse frequency and unsustainability.

3. Increase range and reduce idling. On paper, it sounds perfect, less congestion, less idling, less stops and better effiency and frequency. Logistics and implementation, doable but at the same time, questionable. This idea aimed to increase the speed limiter, the overall nation-wide speed limit and reduce the number of traffic lights to increase traffic flow and reduce congestion. We thought of this idea, it was not really that bad, reduced traffic lights can be compensated by roundabouts for turns and overhead bridges for people crossing. However, there are more downsides of this idea than other ideas. One, increasing the speed limiter may not necessarily be the best. The stop distances will not make it any better. Idling still takes up the same amount of fuel. Though good for long-range fuel-efficiency while cruising at a certain speed, the bus stop distances and possible traffic congestions can make it unfeasible. Two, routes will have to be replanned. Fewer traffic lights means lesser ten-shaped junctions and a more unsafe turning with more congestions. Fewer turns will eventually lead to routes being replanned, which will lead to issues stated in the above point (read point 2).

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1. Creating custom laptop cases because the idea only protects the laptop but it does not fix the issue of bad posture due to it not having adjustable stands.

2. Creating a laptop case that ensures maximum performance but does not have adjustable leg stands. This is a failed idea because even though it ensures maximum performance of the laptop, it can lead to bad posture.

3. Creating a thick laptop case that has both adjustable leg stands and cooling fans to ensure maximum cooling and maximum performance for the laptop as it is too thick to be portable and may be too heavy.

All these ideas are unable to solve the issues we want to fix when they are used independently as they can only solve one issue at a time. However, combining and redesigning all 3 ideas allows us to create a single idea that is able to solve all 3 issues simultaneously

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Our group has focused on helping people in electricity-free, water-insecure communities access safer drinking water from polluted sources due to freshwater contamination. Here's 3 failed solutions we have identified

Solution 1: Chlorination of Drinking Water

Adding chlorine to drinking water to kill bacteria and pathogens, one of the most widely adopted water treatment methods globally since the early 1900s. Chlorination was genuinely revolutionary when it was introduced, and it still works for basic microbial disinfection. But I think it counts as a failed solution for the modern contamination problem because it was designed for a completely different era of water pollution. Chlorine kills bacteria, but it does essentially nothing against the contaminants that are actually threatening freshwater supplies today: heavy metals like lead and arsenic, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics, and agricultural chemicals. Worse, chlorine actually reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in water to form disinfection byproducts like trihalomethanes, which are themselves carcinogenic. So we have a solution that was designed for 1900s contamination being applied to a 2025 contamination profile, and the gap between what it can do and what we actually need it to do keeps widening every year.

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/02/nx-s1-5771155/epa-flags-microplastics-pharmaceuticals-drinking-water

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772416625001664

Solution 2: Boiling Water

Boiling water over fire or stove to kill pathogens, the oldest and most universally recommended household water treatment method, still promoted by WHO and governments globally. Boiling is the go-to recommendation given to water-insecure communities and yet I think it's one of the most frustratingly inadequate solutions we keep recycling. The core problem is that boiling only kills biological contaminants, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa. It does absolutely nothing to remove heavy metals, nitrates, pesticides, or chemical pollutants. In fact, boiling concentrates dissolved contaminants because water evaporates but the chemicals stay behind, meaning boiled contaminated water can actually be chemically worse after boiling than before.

https://www.bluewatergroup.com/en-us/blog/the-disadvantages-of-boiling-water-for-purification

https://www.quora.com/Does-boiling-water-remove-heavy-metals-from-water

Solution 3: Plastic Bottled Water Distribution

Distributing commercially bottled water to water-insecure communities as an emergency or long-term drinking water solution is used extensively in disaster relief and in regions with contaminated municipal supplies. This one feels like the most obvious band-aid solution masquerading as a fix. Bottled water doesn't treat the contamination problem, it just outsources it to a plastic factory and a supply chain. The communities most dependent on bottled water are often the least able to afford it consistently, creating a situation where clean water becomes something you pay for rather than something you have access to. Meanwhile the plastic waste from single-use bottles ends up back in the same waterways that were contaminated to begin with, creating a feedback loop where the solution literally contributes to the original problem. Studies have also found that bottled water is not always cleaner than tap water and can contain microplastics leached from the bottle itself. It's a commercial product sold as a human rights solution, and I think that's exactly why it keeps failing the people who need it most.

https://lamont.columbia.edu/news/bottled-water-can-contain-hundreds-thousands-previously-uncounted-tiny-plastic-bits-study

https://news.osu.edu/some-bottled-water-worse-than-tap-for-microplastics-study-shows

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For our group, we have decided to focus on helping people in electricity-free, water-insecure communities access safer drinking water from the increasingly contaminated freshwater sources around them. Here's 3 failed solutions we have identified with their respective reasons

Solution 1: Chlorination of Drinking Water

Adding chlorine to drinking water to kill bacteria and pathogens, one of the most widely adopted water treatment methods globally since the early 1900s. Chlorination was genuinely revolutionary when it was introduced, and it still works for basic microbial disinfection. But I think it counts as a failed solution for the modern contamination problem because it was designed for a completely different era of water pollution. Chlorine kills bacteria, but it does essentially nothing against the contaminants that are actually threatening freshwater supplies today: heavy metals like lead and arsenic, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics, and agricultural chemicals. Worse, chlorine actually reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in water to form disinfection byproducts like trihalomethanes, which are themselves carcinogenic. So we have a solution that was designed for 1900s contamination being applied to a 2025 contamination profile, and the gap between what it can do and what we actually need it to do keeps widening every year.

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/02/nx-s1-5771155/epa-flags-microplastics-pharmaceuticals-drinking-water

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772416625001664

Solution 2: Boiling Water

Boiling water over fire or stove to kill pathogens is the oldest and most universally recommended household water treatment method, still promoted by WHO and governments globally. Boiling is the go-to recommendation given to water-insecure communities and yet I think it's one of the most frustratingly inadequate solutions we keep recycling. The core problem is that boiling only kills biological contaminants, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa. It does absolutely nothing to remove heavy metals, nitrates, pesticides, or chemical pollutants. In fact, boiling concentrates dissolved contaminants because water evaporates but the chemicals stay behind, meaning boiled contaminated water can actually be chemically worse after boiling than before.

https://www.bluewatergroup.com/en-us/blog/the-disadvantages-of-boiling-water-for-purification

https://www.quora.com/Does-boiling-water-remove-heavy-metals-from-water

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653519308616

Solution 3: Plastic Bottled Water Distribution

Distributing commercially bottled water to water-insecure communities as an emergency or long-term drinking water solution, used extensively in disaster relief and in regions with contaminated municipal supplies. This one feels like the most obvious band-aid solution masquerading as a fix. Bottled water doesn't treat the contamination problem, it just outsources it to a plastic factory and a supply chain. The communities most dependent on bottled water are often the least able to afford it consistently, creating a situation where clean water becomes something you pay for rather than something you have access to. Meanwhile the plastic waste from single-use bottles ends up back in the same waterways that were contaminated to begin with, creating a feedback loop where the solution literally contributes to the original problem. Studies have also found that bottled water is not always cleaner than tap water and can contain microplastics leached from the bottle itself. It's a commercial product sold as a human rights solution, and I think that's exactly why it keeps failing the people who need it most.

https://lamont.columbia.edu/news/bottled-water-can-contain-hundreds-thousands-previously-uncounted-tiny-plastic-bits-study

https://news.osu.edu/some-bottled-water-worse-than-tap-for-microplastics-study-shows

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Failed Solution 1: A giant central air purifier for the whole building

The idea was to install one very large air purifier in the middle of an indoor space to clean all the air in the building. However, air does not circulate evenly throughout large indoor spaces. Pollutants can remain trapped in corners or different rooms, so a single purifier cannot effectively clean the entire environment. The solution also becomes expensive and inefficient.

Failed Solution 2: Mandatory daily desk cleaning for everyone

The idea was to require all employees and/or students to clean their desks every day to reduce dust. However, the solution depends heavily on human behaviour and consistency. People may forget, feel it is inconvenient, or not clean properly. Dust also comes from airborne particles and ventilation systems, so desk cleaning alone does not solve the root problem.

Failed Solution 3: Wearable air filters for workers

The idea was to provide workers with small wearable air filters or personal masks to protect them from polluted air indoors. However, while it may protect individuals, it does not improve the overall air quality of the space. It can also be uncomfortable to wear continuously and may reduce adoption. The solution treats the symptom rather than the environmental cause.

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Why is there a burning smell in Singapore even with no haze?

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Understand why you might smell smoke in Singapore despite normal PSI and PM2.5 readings, and what precautions to take. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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1.Composting food into fertilizer — This idea has already been around for a very long time and a lot of people all over the world, including regular home gardeners as well as large scale farmers and agricultural businesses, already do this on a daily basis as a way to recycle their leftover food and kitchen scraps into nutrient rich fertilizer for their plants, which means that because it is such a well known and widely practiced method, it simply does not count as a new or original idea that is special or different enough to meet the requirements of this project.

2.Food waste as plant pots — Even though using things like watermelon peels or other food waste as plant pots sounds like a pretty creative and eco friendly idea at first, the truth is that other companies and designers have already come up with very similar concepts and have been manufacturing and selling biodegradable plant pots made from organic and natural materials for quite some time now, so because the idea is not unique or different from what is already out there in the market, it unfortunately does not qualify as something new and original enough for this project.

3.Removing bad parts of spoiled food — This is something that almost every single person already does naturally in their own home without even really thinking about it, like when you cut off the moldy part of a piece of bread or remove the rotten section of a fruit and then eat the rest, and on top of that, because it is just a simple everyday habit or behavior rather than an actual product or service that can be properly developed, packaged, and offered to people, it does not fit what this project is trying to achieve.

All three of these ideas were ultimately rejected because the goal of this project was to come up with something that is truly fresh, creative, and original, something that has never been thought of or built before, and since all three of these ideas were already too familiar, too common, and too widely known, none of them were able to meet that standard.

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7898940/5-food-scraps-you-can-use-for-your-plants/

https://gardeningsg.nparks.gov.sg/page-index/horticulture-techniques/composting/

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/molds-food-are-they-dangerous

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1. A shared fridge that allows food businesses to share resource if there are extras. Expiry date of each ingredient to be noted on the container.

The idea is not very practical as a business model as there are high coordination and monitoring costs since businesses would need to constantly label, track expiry dates, and ensure food safety standards are met. This may create issues where if someone falls sick, it is unclear who is liable. Additionally some businesses may be reluctant to use ingredients from unknown sources due to hygiene concerns or brand reputation risks.

2. Implement composting systems to convert inedible surplus food into fertiliser for urban farming or landscaping.

This solution incurs high setup and maintenance costs as installing composting infrastructure requires a large amount of investment for which we have to find sponsors and also requires space, in land-scarce Singapore. As well as training for staff to maintain these systems, which many small food businesses or hawkers cannot afford. In the long term, while this idea may be environmentally beneficial, the profits we can make are limited and slow, making it unattractive as a standalone business model.

3.  A physical station in the hawker centres that allow food stall owners to give leftover food at the end of the day. centre.

This solution faces practical limitations. On some days there may be excess food while on others there may be none, making this system unreliable. Furthermore it would be difficult to implement this system all across Singapore as a large amount of funding would be needed. As students this poses a big problem for us as we do not have much access to large funds and resources like this. And it would not be very helpful if only a few hawker stalls implemented this idea as there would still be a significant amount of food waste. We also realised that relying on leftover food does not address the root cause of food waste.

articles :

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195925525003464

https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/3r-programmes-and-resources/food-waste-management/food-waste-management-strategies?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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Solution 1: Water Filter

Very common in the world, and also quite ineffective due to it only being able to filter out particles that are larger than water particles by using a mesh with pores that are larger than water particles but smaller than others. Additionally, our idea on a solution is to fully filter out waste and polluters from our waters.

Solution 2: Clean Water Transformer

Although this solution is quite rare in the world, it is quite costly for us to make and also too complicated for us as Sec 3 students to replicate something like this as it invovles processes like chemical treatment, etc. This solution is effective yet costly and too complicated, especially for our team.

Solution 3: Recycled Water Filter

This was a solution that closely resembles the first solution, however it uses recycled materials for its production. Although the thought of using recycled materials may inspire others to also reduce their waste, the solution is still highly ineffective, maybe even more than the first solution, and it is also very common in the world.

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1. Pre‑Event Redistribution Planning

Why we think it failed:
We think this solution failed because it depends heavily on accurate attendance confirmation which are often unreliable due to human behaviour. Food safety is also a major issue as food redistributed hours after preparation may no longer be safe for consumption. In addition, responsibility and liability are placed on charitable organisations creating legal and administrative challenges that reduce the feasibility of this solution.

Article:
https://easyeventhireuk.com/blog/from-food-waste-to-food-rescue-why-uk-event-caterers-need-better-redistribution-solutions/

2. Modular Wedge Buffet System

Why we think it failed:
We think this solution failed because rearranging food into smaller wedges does not reduce waste when guest demand remains unchanged. If attendees do not take the food, the same amount is still discarded. It also creates operational challenges such as increased cleaning effort and more components to manage. For large‑scale events, multiple smaller trays complicate logistics and setup reducing scalability.

Article:
https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/learn/how-does-the-culture-of-all-you-can-eat-buffets-relate-to-food-waste/

3. Dynamic Tray Sizing Using Weight Sensors

Why we think it failed:
We think this solution failed because it mainly addresses the visual perception of abundance rather than directly reducing food waste. While it may delay refilling, it does not significantly change consumption behaviour. The prototype also appeared passive, making it harder to clearly demonstrate strong innovation or measurable environmental impact.

Article:
https://www.traveldailynews.com/column/articles/smart-buffet-management-how-hotels-reduce-food-waste-without-bans/

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1. Mycelium-based packaging

Idea:

This idea uses mycelium (the root structure of fungi) grown around a product using agricultural waste to form a custom-shaped protective packaging. The mycelium binds the material together over several days, and the final product is heat-treated to stop growth, creating a biodegradable and compostable alternative to plastic packaging.

Why it failed:

This concept faces major limitations in terms of scalability and production speed. The growth process takes several days, which is too slow for high-volume manufacturing. It is also difficult to maintain consistent quality, strength, and hygiene across different batches. Additionally, the need for controlled environmental conditions and specialised facilities increases cost, making it less practical for widespread commercial use.

2. Dynamic shelf (packaging-free system)

Idea:

This concept involves a smart supermarket shelf with individual sealed compartments for each product. Customers select items through a screen or button, and only the selected compartment opens, eliminating the need for traditional plastic packaging and reducing packaging waste at the retail level.

Why it failed:

The system is highly impractical due to its high cost and the need for a complete redesign of existing retail infrastructure. It would require advanced electronic systems, constant maintenance, and strict hygiene control. It may also be inconvenient for consumers and difficult to implement across different product types and store layouts. These factors make it unrealistic for large-scale adoption.

3. Biodegradable packaging that degrades with food

Idea:

This idea proposes packaging that biodegrades alongside fresh food, such as fruits, so that both the food and its packaging decompose together, reducing plastic waste.

Why it failed:

This concept is unreliable because the rate of degradation is difficult to control and can be affected by environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. If the packaging degrades too early, it can compromise food safety, shelf life, and product quality. This makes it unsuitable for use in food storage and transport, where packaging must remain stable and protective until consumption.

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1. It tries to create a cycle where old clothes become new ones instead of being thrown away. (failed solution)

-Clothes aren't made to be recycled due to the blended fabrics in modern clothes
(e.g. cotton + polyester + elastane), which are extremely hard to separate.
-Recycling systems need pure materials, but fashion does not have that requirement.

For a start, clothes made from more than two fibres are so far considered non-recyclable.

-Even though recycling exists, it’s still

requires sorting the garments by color, cleaning, disassembling the buttons zippers and other materials

-recycled garments often have such low quality that they have to be woven with other materials.(https://www.bgnes.com/no-filter/why-recycling-in-the-fashion-industry-is-failing-to-save-the-planet)

2. (https://www.vogue.com/article/the-ugly-side-of-fashions-take-back-programmes)

- A huge portion still becomes waste, especially in developing countries

- Many donated clothes are low quality and are unable to be sold

- Waste is often exported and not dealt with directly, shifting the problem instead of solving it.

-Garments still end up as waste… particularly in the Global South”

Also supported by reporting:

- Excess clothes are dumped because countries lack capacity to handle them

3. https://time.com/6285257/is-clothing-rental-resale-recycling-sustainable-nuuly/

Online rental and resale platforms often fail to extend garment lifecycles because fast fashion's low-quality, poorly constructed materials cannot withstand multiple uses. Furthermore, the high logistical costs of cleaning and shipping, combined with the low secondhand value, make the business model economically unsustainable while often producing a higher carbon footprint.

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Idea 1:

A flat rectangular packaging that can be reused as a poster later on featuring the Brand’s marketing and art direction for the clothing of that season. It would be made out of biodegradable materials.

Why it failed:

This solution depends on personal preference, as not all users would want to keep or display a poster. It also serves mainly as decoration rather than a functional reuse, so the packaging is still likely to be discarded, making the impact on waste reduction limited.

Idea 2:

Packaging includes collectible cut-outs of clothing items that users can pop out and rearrange for styling inspiration.

Why it failed:

The cut-outs have limited long term use and may only be used once before being discarded. It also requires the brand to continuously design new collectibles for each season, increasing production effort and making the solution difficult to scale. This reduces its effectiveness in minimising packaging waste.

Idea 3:

Packaging includes pop-out cardboard hangers that users can assemble and reuse.

Why it failed:

Cardboard hangers may not be durable enough for long-term use and can bend or break easily. They may also not support heavier clothing items, leading users to discard them. Additionally, this idea may not be scalable for smaller packaging.

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1) Solution 1: To design improved and inclusive systems we can start a mini farm using for the community for everyone to contribute and let everyone have access to the food. We did not choose the idea as this would take a lot of effort as we need space and maintenance and time to grow the plants.

2) Solution 2: Make an event which collects “ugly” food from shopping centres and given as donations to poorer people as shopping centres would not be able to sell bad looking foods, but most of the foods are still edible. We decided against it as it might take a lot of effort to make such an event and some shopping centres might not want to collaborate. This will also take a lot of time to make.

3) Solution 3: Redesigning stalls to put accurate pictures so people won’t buy too much and would result in food waste, example ,stalls selling something that is much more than a person can eat might not want to buy it or the amount of food is lesser, they might want to buy something more filing. This might not be feasible as the impact might be little as people might still just buy it worth out much thought or stalls might not comply as it might ruin their business when they find out the food quantity is actually lesser and not buy from them.

4) Solution 4: Encourage event organisers to use bento boxes instead of buffets and hence, saves waste. This does not work well as they might accidentally prepare too little and end up with hungry people and people who want second serving. It might also be more difficult to register the exact number of people to be able to provide that specific amount of food.

https://www.fairpricegroup.com.sg/fairprice-foundation/neighbourhood-food-share/

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Dive into the heart of this initiative at our signature FairPrice block parties, learn more, and stand a chance to win exciting prizes for your family.

Immerse yourself in a day of fun with games and snacks from various booths. Plus, don't miss the convenience of shopping for over 200 essential groceries at our FairPrice on Wheels Truck.

It's a celebration of community, sustainability, and everyday essentials all in one vibrant event!

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FairPrice Foundation Neighbourhood Food Share - Rescuing & Reducing Food Waste

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Join our FairPrice Foundation Neighbourhood Food Share initiative. Combat food waste with our restock programme, providing accessible, fresh fruits and vegetables to those in need. Together, let's reduce food waste and nourish communities.

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1. Non-functional aesthetics and medical looking appearance

This became a problem because instead of focusing on the stylish element of clothing, it often turns out to be sterile and hospital-grade which creates several problems such as drawing unwanted attention towards to person's disability and adding on to that perception of a labelled category as "others", creating a negative perception. At the same time this strips away the idea of personal style and autonomy and keeps creating a burden of managing chronic conditions which keeps acting as a constant reminder. As for non-functional aesthetics such as hidden seams that cause pressure sores may be impossible for caregiver to put on or straight up uncomfortable for the user. These ultimately are considered failures because it just heavily focuses on the medical or physical needs and neglect the aesthetic needs.

2. Poorly designed seated-wear

This became a problem because clothing designed for standing often causes excess fabric to bunch behind the knees and in the groin area when seated which can cause discomfort and lead to more pressure sores due to thick seams for individuals with reduced sensation, at the same time it does not offer space at the knees for leg braces or orthotics. In terms of inconvenience, normally pants have a lower back rises but when seated, it results in the waistband sliding down exposing the wearer's back and making the garments uncomfortable and difficult to manage. Ultimately, this causes discomfort and exposing skin, pressure points, limited movements and lack of independence.

3. Overly complex designs

Lastly, this became a problem as well because designs that require high dexterity like intricate fastening, small buttons, hard-to-reach fastening systems can take away the idea of independence with individuals with limited dexterity or mobility. At the same time, features designed to be "revolutionary" sometimes lead to discomfort such as bulky seams, poorly placed zips or velcro that irritates the skin if used in excess, which can be hard to manage if there are too many. In addition, when it comes to structural additions, using bulky, heavy-duty attachments for thick materials that create excessive heat or restricted movements. All in all, this creates more physical strains, comfort and safety risks.

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Idea 1: Incorporate recycled plastic waste into asphalt or prefabricated road materials.

Incorporating Waste Plastics into Pavement Materials: A Review of Opportunities, Risks, Environmental Implications, and Monitoring Strategies

Why it failed: This concept gained attention for reducing plastic waste, several trials revealed performance issues. Some roads showed cracking and deformation under heavy traffic loads and high temperatures, especially in regions with extreme climates. In addition, environmental concerns were raised about the potential release of microplastics as the material wears down over time. Although small-scale pilots showed promise, large-scale implementation has been inconsistent due to variations in plastic types and mix quality.

Idea 2: Compressing recycled newspaper into wood-like panels intended for construction and furniture use.

Revolutionizing Sustainability: The Rise of NewspaperWood

Why it failed: The material struggled to gain market acceptance. It lacked the structural strength of conventional wood products and was highly sensitive to moisture, leading to swelling and degradation over time. These limitations made it unsuitable for most practical applications, particularly in construction, where durability is essential

Idea 3:using coal combustion waste to produce bricks.

Utilization of Coal Wastes for the Production of Ceramic Materials: A Review | Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration | Springer Nature Link

Why it failed: This idea faced major setbacks due to inconsistent quality and lack of standardized production methods. Builders were hesitant to adopt the material because early batches often had lower strength and reliability compared to traditional clay bricks. There was also skepticism about using industrial waste in construction

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Incorporating Waste Plastics into Pavement Materials: A Review of Opportunities, Risks, Environmental Implications, and Monitoring Strategies

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The integration of waste plastics into pavement materials offers a dual benefit of enhancing road performance and mitigating the environmental burden of plastic waste. This review critically examines the opportunities and challenges associated with incorporating waste plastics in pavement construction, with an emphasis on their impact on the mechanical properties, durability, and life cycle performance of pavements. Special attention is given to the environmental implications, particularly the potential generation and release of micro- and nano-plastics during the pavement life cycle. This paper further evaluates current monitoring and analytical methodologies for detecting plastic emissions from road surfaces and explores emerging approaches for minimizing environmental risks. By providing a comprehensive synthesis of existing knowledge, this review seeks to support sustainable practices and inform policy development within the frameworks of circular economy and environmental stewardship.

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1. Turning food waste into compost that can use to fertilize the plants.

2. Have a programme where people can exchange expiring / ugly food with other food that they want / need

3. Using over ripe fruits we can create ice-cream using them

Why the ideas failed:

1. if we used the waste as compost, we would have to source for a vendor and we would need to acquire license and we would also need to seek approval from the National Environmental Agency(NEA)

2. This does not solve the problem of food wastage as the programme would have no use with these expiring food and would likely also throw them away.

3. We would need to use a lot of other ingredients and little amounts of overriped fruits and it would be very ineffcient as if we are dealing with large amounts of overriped fruits many of them would spoil by the time they are put to use.

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One idea was asking café staff to manually separate and store used milk bottles for recycling. This failed because staff are already busy during peak hours, so recycling becomes extra work that they are likely to skip or do inconsistently. Over time, the system just breaks down because it depends too much on human effort.

Another idea was placing recycling bins in cafés for customers to return empty bottles. This did not work well because customers usually do not finish or handle the bottles themselves, so they feel no responsibility to recycle them. Even if bins are there, most people will just ignore them, so participation stays very low.

The third idea was relying on general waste collectors to handle the recycling. This failed because there is no guarantee the bottles are actually recycled properly once they leave the café. Without a clear system or tracking, it becomes invisible and untrustworthy, so there is no real impact or brand value created.

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1) Solution 1: design a rainwater collection recycling system for households or schools. This fails as it would take a lot of effort, is unreliable as only can be used when it is raining and would take a lot of maintenance and materials to make

2) Solution 2: Air circulation fan to clear the air in indoor spaces. This fails as we would need a lot of materials for it to be placed in every room ( also these things already exist ). This also needs maintenance and also wastes energy when someone forgets to close.

3) Solution 3: Remind everyone to not use so much water when showering or brushing out teeth. This fails as it might not be that impactful or people will not listen to us or forget. This is easy but a hassle for some people to do.

https://www.freshwatersystems.com/blogs/blog/5-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-rainwater-harvesting?srsltid=AfmBOopVKsFEE3iwAcv4ABaehw36IFp4v6FConIyLaQnN2n_uwyBlugH

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5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Rainwater Harvesting

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Rainwater harvesting may seem like an inefficient way to provide extra water for your home, but many Americans utilize storage tanks to supply hundreds of gallons of water for outdoor uses. Not only is collecting rainwater great for homes that practice it, but it is also beneficial to the environment. Below you can fin

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1. Fast fashion take-back schemes (H&M) https://changingmarkets.org/report/take-back-trickery-an-investigation-into-clothing-take-back-schemes/

H&M introduced in-store collection bins which allowed customers to return their old clothes to be recycled

Investigations found that many returned clothes were destroyed instead of being recycled

Customers felt unhappy and tricked by H&M

2. Exporting second-hand clothes to developing countries

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20230219-donated-clothes-an-environmental-disaster-in-disguise-for-developing-world

Unwanted clothes were sent to countries in Africa for reuse or resale

Many clothes were of poor quality and were unable to be reused so clothes were thrown away

When the clothes cannot be used, they end up burning in landfills near Nairobi, exposing waste pickers and local residents to toxic fumes

More than one in three pieces of used clothing shipped to Kenya is a form of plastic waste in disguise, leading to plastic pollution in the country

Donated clothes were not suitable for the weather in developing countries (Donated winter wear is unsuitable for Africa's weather)

Harmed local clothing businesses in developing countries as it was taking customers away from their business

3. Textile recycling technology (fibre recycling) https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/oct/18/the-missing-link-is-textile-recycling-the-answer-to-fashions-waste-crisis

https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/recycling-fashion

Old clothes were broken down into fibres and were reused to make new garments

Most clothes were made from blended fabrics which made it difficult to separate

As recycling infrastructure is limited, very little clothing were actually turned into new clothing

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Take-Back Trickery: an investigation into clothing take-back schemes • Changing Markets

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This report tracked 21 items from 10 fashion brands through their take-back schemes. Despite the slogans, three quarters of items were either destroyed, left in warehouses or exported to Africa.

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Share the 3 failed solutions and share the reason why you think it failed. Provide any interesting videos or articles!